Perrysburg Schools earns Positive State Audit Report

Each year the Auditor of State conducts audits of all public schools across the state. The audit report for Perrysburg Schools for the 2014-2015 school year has just been released.

This annual audit is not a “special audit” like the one released on February 4, 2016. The annual audit focuses on internal controls and compliance at the financial statement level and looks at major federal programs to ensure that the district had taken the necessary steps to prevent deficiencies, material weaknesses and noncompliance.

After a thorough audit by the State, the report did not find any deficiencies in internal controls, any material noncompliance issues at the financial statement level or any material noncompliance issues with its major federal programs. The auditors did bring one issue to the district’s attention that some investments with the Bond Retirement Fund and Building Fund had initial maturities greater than three months and were recorded as cash equivalents on the financial statements rather than investments. Although the Government Auditing Standards did not require this to be included, it was identified as one “material weakness” and submitted for the district’s consideration.

The Auditor of State wrote: “We are extremely pleased with the direction the District has taken financially, instructionally and structurally.”

School Board President Jarman Davis in response to the audit report stated: “This report is a welcome response to the district’s efforts to safeguard taxpayer dollars. To have the Auditor of State say that he was ‘extremely pleased’ with the direction of the district financially, instructionally and structurally is a validation of our efforts.”

Board Vice President Sue Larimer stated: “The positive impact of the improvements our district has made in our internal controls over the last two years can be seen in this positive audit report. We are still working very hard to safeguard every dollar we receive and address any areas where we could improve.”

The report stated that the district’s expenditure levels continue to be reviewed and closely monitored. The report also underscored how the costs for services for students with special needs continue to rise. The auditor wrote: “This is such an uncontrollable cost.”

The audit report noted the district’s hard work to “implement aggressive measures to balance the budget and provide some financial stability.” The auditors also noted that, “curriculum adoptions were placed on hold for several years due to financial restraints but schedules have been adopted to revisit and update courses of study.”

The Ohio Auditor of State’s report is available online at http://tinyurl.com/PEVSDaudit063015.